The Movie That Shows What Happens When You Ditch Your Abusive Partner For An Alien

Award-winning director Amat Escalante takes us to 'La Tierra Salvaje,' where sexual freedom is found only in a cabin with a seductive alien.

Some relationships are worth saving, while others have such problems, there is nothing else to do but break up. But where do we draw the line? The line should be drawn at abuse, but love blinds people from seeing the toxic relationship in which they are living in. A film that is a perfect metaphor for how a person can go from sexual frustration, pain, and unhappiness to new experiences is The Untamed: a story about an alien with seductive and pleasurable abilities that turns frustrated individuals into its sexual partners.

The Untamed is a sci-fi erotic thriller where an asteroid lands in a Mexican town. The asteroid brings with it a squid-like alien that doesn't seem to be very interested in sharing scientific knowledge with the world, or conquering our planet, but rather, feeding on the sexual appetite of repressed individuals. The movie tells the story of an unhappily married young couple. Alejandra, a stay-at-home mother, Angel, a construction worker, and their two children, seem like the picture-perfect family. But Angel is never around, he cheats on Alejandra and takes out his anger on her. This gives Alejandra reasons to seek love elsewhere, even if that means going into a cabin with a strange alien.

Alejandra, who is frustrated, unhappy, and abused by her husband, meets her friend Veronica, who tells her fascinating stories about this “creature” with amazing skills in bed. Determined to see if the rumors were true, Alejandra goes into the woods to a cabin, where the pink-tentacled alien waits for its partners. She surrenders to the creature and finds more pleasure than she ever felt before. This changes her life to the point where she is willing to leave her husband.

As the story continues, we learn that the creature can inflict as much pain as pleasure. This is clearly a metaphor for the repression in which the people of the town live. The social conventions and traditions surrounding marriage has driven the residents of the village to lead unsatisfying lives. In addition, Alejandra’s life is a reflection of how repression can push an individual to addictive and dangerous activities. For instance, Angel (very much a macho stereotype) is not attracted to his wife or any other woman, which viewers realize when he has sex with his brother-in-law, Fabian, and finally enjoys it. Both characters keep their sexual preferences hidden from everyone else in town because they fear they'll be rejected and condemned. Later on, Fabian gets to try the alien's powers for himself, but suffers the deadly consequences.

It is unclear how many people the alien meets throughout the movie, but we know that at least Alejandra, Veronica, and Fabian become addicted to the creature’s skills. There is also an older couple who monitors the alien throughout the film and seems to understand the creature's abilities and potential. Yet, the alien is not the main point of the movie. The lives of these characters are not changed by the sudden appearance of an outer space creature. Instead, their frustrated and unfulfilled desires are the ones that lead them to their own destruction. This film will have you thinking about sexuality, abusive relationships, and the consequences of seeking to live out our darkest fantasies.